Effect of Humic acid levels on fodder production of maize (Zea mays) varieties under agro-climatic conditions of Tandojam-Sindh Pakistan

Abstract

In Pakistan, maize is the fourth largest grown crop after wheat, cotton, rice and is considered as fodder for livestock as well. There are various reasons for low productivity of this crop which includes low soil organic matter (O.M). Chemical fertilizers indiscriminate utilization disturbs the soil tithe and its chemical composition which caused in reduction plant yield. Hence to overcome the problem of this low fertility, humic acid is strongly recommended throughout the world. Hence and research experiment was conduct as student’s Agronomy experimental farm, at Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam, Pakistan during the year 2017 on humic acid levels effect on fodder production of maize (Zea Mays). The experiment was designed by following the randomize complete block design (RCBD) with net plot size 3 by 4 m (12 m.seq). The experiment comprises of the recommended dose of NPK and various levels of humic acid such as HA1 = Untreated, HA2 = 2 kg ha-1, HA3 = 3 kg ha-1 and HA4 = 4 kg ha-1. The results of our study showed that significant effect on different levels of humic acid on the different varieties of maize crop. The results revealed that the application of humic acid @4Kgha-1 gave maximum yield and better growth of maize varieties as compared to lower levels of humic acid application where as in varieties Akbar and Sadaf produced maximum fodder yield than variety Neelum in response to humic acid application. Keywords: Fodder production; Humic acid levels; Maize (Zea mays L.) http://dx.doi.org/10.19045/bspab.2019.80108